GEFF DAWSON
2 Bar D Ranch
Alma, Kansas
About Geff Dawson
Geff Dawson's web site
One More Chance
There's no alarm clock needed,
to get me out of bed,
For today, I'll be a cowboy,
now lets get them horses fed.
The chores are done
before the sun tops the eastern hill.
I saddle up ole paint
and up my back there goes a chill.
For this life it does excite me,
my dream, it has come true.
For today, I'll be a cowboy,
a cowboy through and through.
I load ole paint and and start my truck,
and down the road we go,
Headed for the pastures
where the greenest grasses grow.
We gather steers, bunch by bunch
and take em to the pen.
We implant, worm and vaccinate
and turn em out again.
We drive em back to where they came,
to graze the summer through.
Where the grass is green, the waters clear
and the sky is a deep deep blue.
Work's all done, we trailer up
and head back for the ranch.
The day it passed so quickly,
that I never had a chance.
A chance to thank my maker,
the Lord from up above.
For giving me the life,
the life I really love.
I get back home and do my chores,
just like the day began.
And ask the Lord please give me one more chance,
to let me do er all again.
© 2003, Geff Dawson
This poem may not be reprinted or reposted without the author's written permission.
The Wake-Up Call
We sat in the truck, my neighbor Whitey and me,
waitin' for the storm to clear.
Lightnin' and thunder that July morn,
all seemed to be so near.
We're on top of the world in Flint Hills grass
ready to gather some steers,
Prepared to mount up, and do our job,
once the boss gives the all clear.
We joked about gettin' struck by lightning
and wondered if you'd feel the pain.
We had no idea what lie in store,
riding out there after the rain.
I assured ole Whitey that if he got struck,
and suddenly lost his life,
I would collect his cowboy wages,
then deliver it back home to his wife.
About that time, there was a break in the clouds,
and the rain began to subside.
We unloaded horses, stepped in the stirrup
and across the pasture began to ride.
We rode clear to the south and then headed west,
following steers along at a trot.
As the sky grew dark, a new storm blew in
and the thunder began to POP.
I got an eerie feeling as we topped the hill,
Whitey 50 yards to the right,
I heard a hheeeck--then a blinding flash,
and a BOMB sent my horse in a fright.
I was stunned, and like a fish out of water,
in my saddle I was gasping for air.
Every muscle I had was twitching in spasm,
as I clinched the back of my hair.
As I regained my senses, and gathered my wits,
I saw Whitey slumped in his saddle.
Like me, he was stunned, his eyes still closed,
like a soldier who'd been through a battle.
I glanced down between Whitey and me,
just 30 feet at the most,
Smoke was rising from the wet prairie grass,
from a black spot the size of a post.
We abandoned our mission of gathering cattle,
and headed back for cover.
Loaded our horses and jumped in the truck,
then sat there and stared at each other.
As I look back on that day, I'm not sure why
two cowboys like us were spared.
I can't recall before that time,
two punchers ever bein so scared.
The way I see it, twas a wake-up call,
with two sinners ridin so close together,
The Lord had a chance to threaten us both
by landing it right in the center.© 2003, Geff Dawson
This poem may not be reprinted or reposted without the author's written permission.
Geff told us: My inspiration for the poem came when my neighbor and I were shipping double-stock cattle off a Flint Hills pasture in July, 2005, when a Kansas thunderstorm rolled in. We were several miles from the catch pens and had to finish the job when a bolt of lightning struck the ground between us as we were gathering cattle horseback. The other cowboys helping that day saw the strike of lightning hit on the hilltop and from there I think the poem describes the incident
About Geff Dawson:
Geff Dawson was born and raised in Abilene, Kansas. After attending Kansas State University, he and his wife Dawn, purchased land in Wabaunsee County, Kansas nearly 20 years ago. Geff started his ranch-cowboy career in the Kansas Flint Hills where he lives and his cowboy poetry portrays his true-life experiences on the different ranches he has worked over the years. He won't hesitate to tell you that being a ranch cowboy and being able to ride through God's country is not only a thrill but he'll tell you it's a job he never tired of except maybe on those rainy cold spring days during calving. He has more hours than he can count horseback either training horses or working cattle as day help for area ranches and Geff has taken these true-life experiences and expressed them into very entertaining cowboy poetry.
Geff and Dawn are Purina Ambassadors and travel around the area putting on clinics and Purina promotional events. They have been involved in the horse business since they were both very young. They are the State Directors for the Kansas National Barrel Horse Association, where Dawn recently earned NBHA State Director of the Year. Geff & Dawn's Reality Horsemanship clinics, offer you hand's on riding time and tips on learning how to become better riders as well as dealing with the horse you have. Geff has been known to ride saddle broncs and bulls, he's competed in calf roping and cutting as well as having shod thousands of horses.
Whether or not you consider Geff a "traditional" cowboy poet is up to you. He tends to write on the lighter side including very funny events he has experienced. His poetry grabs you from the start and keeps you listening to the end. Geff feels he was given a true blessing with his ability to write and perform cowboy poetry and he will astound you with his portrayal of his true-life experiences, some which folks just say "can't be true."
On December 23 and December 25, 2005, RFD-TV carried a Christmas program for the troops produced by Best of America by Horseback. Geff was a featured performer in the television program in which he performed his Christmas poem, "A Ranch Cowboy's Christmas Wish." Geff also recently competed for the first time at the Western Legends Roundup in Kanab, Utah, in 2005, and was honored to have placed second in both the Poet Serious and Poet Humorous divisions while competing against many very accomplished poets. Geff was given the opportunity to perform at the Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering in Fort Worth, Texas, a truly spectacular event. In October, 2005, Geff was commissioned by the National Reining Horse Association to write and perform a poem for the NRHA Million Dollar Club Members. He performed the poem on horseback during the NRHA futurity in Oklahoma City to a crowd that was the largest crowd in the coliseum since the NFR was held in OKC. Geff was also commissioned by Purina Mills to write a poem in honor of the Kansas Cutting Horse Legends in the Spring of 2005. This poem is included on his recent CD, 110% Cowboy. Geff performs at many Purina sponsored clinics and seminars as well as private and civic events. You may contact the ranch for more information for scheduling and fees.You can contact Geff:
2 Bar D Ranch
34843 K99 Hwy.
Alma, KS 66401
785-765-2357
Web site: www.ranchcowboy.com
e-mail: kscowboy@kansas.net
110% Cowboy
Released December, 2005
A collection of original poems by Geff Dawson, including "The North & Judd Spur," "One More Chance," "The Camel Roping," and more. The title comes from his personal motto, which he has lived all of his life: that you must give 110% to reach your goals.
Includes:
Cowboy Try
North & Judd Spur
K-Mart
Mad Cow Disease
Hereford Jeckel & Mrs. Hyde
Camel Roping
The Wake-up Call
One More Chance
Kansas Legends of Cutting
With background music by Jed Wymore, Manhattan, Kansas
Read more at his web site.$15.00 plus postage
Visa, Mastercard and Paypal accepted
2 Bar D Ranch
34843 K99 Hwy.
Alma, KS 66401
785-765-2357
A Tribute to the Million Dollar Horsemen
This CD is a single release of Geff Dawson's poem, "A Tribute to the Million Dollar Horsemen," which he was asked to write in honor of the members of the Million Dollar Club of the NRHA in 2005.
Read more at his web site.
$8.00
Visa, Mastercard and Paypal accepted
2 Bar D Ranch
34843 K99 Hwy.
Alma, KS 66401
785-765-2357
In December, 2005, Geff Dawson was featured in a Christmas Music Special honoring the troops and their families at Fort Riley, Kansas, produced by Best of America by Horseback and shown on RFD-TV. Following is a press release about that show:
Cowboy poet Geff Dawson of Alma, Kansas was chosen to be a featured performer in a special Christmas music show honoring the troops and their families at Fort Riley, Kansas.
Executive Producer, Tom Seay of Culpeper, Virginia invited Geff to perform after he heard his poetry at Purina's Dream Ride this past fall. The weekly horseback television show, Best of America by Horseback, taped the music special live at Fort Riley on November 29, 2005 before a "standing room only" audience.
Highlights of the show also included special Christmas messages written and sent from Nancy Reagan, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, and Clifton Truman Daniel, President Truman's grandson. Other special messages included one from the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, Roy Roger's family and from Ms. Diedre Downs, Miss America 2005.
Seay said, "I usually don't tell anyone that I was an English major in college. When I heard Geff Dawson's cowboy poetry, I can tell anyone from a cowboy point of view, his work is true to life and, from a literary point of view, his work is unsurpassed. Perhaps, better than that he is a true gentlemen." During the Christmas special at Fort Riley, one of the highlights of the show was the children's involvement. "Geff Dawson had them in awe and listening intently. He really brought the Christmas spirit home. We welcome him to a long and lasting relationship with Best of America by Horseback."
The Christmas Music Special will air on satellite on the RFD-TV channel via DirecTV channel 379 and Dish TV Network on channel 9409. It will air December 23, 2005 at 3 PM (EST) and 11 PM (EST), in addition to Christmas Day at 6 PM (EST). The Armed Forces Television Network will also air this special to 28 major US cities and over 120 countries worldwide.
More information about the Best of America by Horseback show series visit them at www.bestofamericabyhorseback.com. For information or to contact Geff Dawson about his new CD, 110% Cowboy, visit www.ranchcowboy.com.
Authors retain copyright to
their work; obtain an author's
permission before using a poem in any form.
CowboyPoetry.com is a project of the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry, Inc., a Federal and California tax-exempt non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization.
